The Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, on behalf of the Government of Ontario, invites public comments on a proposed regulation made under section. 4.1(3) of the Health Insurance Act, (HIA). The proposed regulation will be posted for 45 days for public comment, after which the Lieutenant Governor in Council may finalize the regulation with or without changes.

The HIA governs the administration and operation of the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (Plan) and the Minister of Health and Long Term Care is the public authority for Ontario for the purposes of the Canada Health Act, 1990.

The proposed new regulation was developed under section 4.1(3) of the HIA, which provides that the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care and General Manager of the Plan are required to disclose personal information held by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) if the disclosure is “necessary for purposes related to the administration of” the HIA, or “for other purposes as may be prescribed.”

The proposed new regulation would prescribe “other purposes,” and, more specifically, enable MOHLTC to disclose Ministry-held personal information about physicians to eHealth Ontario, if the disclosure is necessary for the provision of electronic health services, including the provincial Diabetes Registry. eHealth Ontario needs this information to ensure the accurate identification of physicians in Ontario who will use eHealth services in order to provide health care to their patients.

Once the final regulation is in force, and the MOHLTC discloses personal information about physicians to eHealth Ontario, the use of this information by eHealth Ontario would be governed by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.